Cushing, Oklahoma — the self-styled "Pipeline Crossroads of the World" — is where the NYMEX WTI crude oil futures contract is delivered. That makes a town of about 8,300 people the reference point for the US oil price. This guide explains where Cushing is, how much oil it can store, why there are so many tanks, and why its weekly inventory number moves the WTI price.
Where Cushing Is
Cushing is in Payne County in central Oklahoma, roughly midway between Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Its tank farms ring the town and are linked by pipelines to the Permian Basin in West Texas and New Mexico, to Canadian and Bakken crude coming from the north, to the Rockies, and to the refining and export centers on the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast.
Why Cushing Became the WTI Hub
Wildcatter Thomas B. Slick struck oil east of Cushing on March 17, 1912, opening the Cushing-Drumright field, which by 1915 was one of the most productive fields in the United States. As the field declined, the pipelines, tanks and refineries built to serve it remained, and Cushing became a gathering and trading point for crude from across the Mid-Continent. When the New York Mercantile Exchange launched its light sweet crude oil futures contract in 1983, it chose Cushing as the delivery point because of that dense web of pipelines and storage.
Cushing Storage Capacity
The EIA's last Working and Net Available Shell Storage Capacity report, with data for March 2024, put Cushing at:
| Net available shell capacity (tanks) | ≈97.7 million barrels |
| Working capacity (tanks) | ≈78.4 million barrels |
| Crude in storage (week ending Sept 25, 2026) | 24.3 million barrels |
| Record high in storage (April 7, 2017) | 69.4 million barrels |
| 2026 low (July 24, 2026) | 18.6 million barrels |
Sources: EIA storage capacity report (March 2024 data; discontinued after that edition) and EIA weekly Cushing stocks excluding SPR (release of September 30, 2026).
Shell vs working capacity: shell capacity is the design volume of the tanks; working capacity subtracts tank bottoms and other volumes that cannot be used in normal operation. Major terminal operators at Cushing include Enbridge, Plains All American, ONEOK (which acquired Magellan Midstream in 2023) and Enterprise Products Partners, among others. All storage is in above-ground tanks — the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve's salt caverns are on the Gulf Coast, not at Cushing.
Why There Are So Many Tanks
- Delivery point: anyone delivering oil against an expiring NYMEX WTI contract needs barrels in a Cushing facility.
- Blending and batching: crude from different fields is stored separately and blended to meet the WTI delivery specification and refiners' needs.
- Storage trades: when the futures curve is in contango (later months more expensive), traders can buy oil now, store it at Cushing and sell it forward at a profit — so storage demand rises when the market is oversupplied.
- Pipeline scheduling: tanks buffer the timing differences between inbound and outbound pipeline batches.
Why Cushing Inventories Move WTI
The EIA publishes Cushing stocks every Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. ET in its Weekly Petroleum Status Report (the American Petroleum Institute's private estimate comes out on Tuesday afternoons). Because the futures contract settles by physical delivery at Cushing, the amount of oil available there directly affects the price of the expiring and next few contracts:
- High stocks weigh on nearby WTI futures, push the curve into contango and tend to widen WTI's discount to Brent. The extreme case was April 20, 2020, when storage was filling and the expiring May contract settled at minus $37.63.
- Low stocks support nearby futures, push the curve into backwardation and narrow the discount to Brent. In June–July 2026, with Cushing below 20 million barrels, the EIA noted that inventories may have approached operational tank-bottom limits, and WTI's spot price briefly rose above Brent's.
See the WTI-Brent spread guide for how this feeds into the international price gap, and the WTI futures contract specifications for the delivery rules.
Key Pipelines
- Inbound: lines from the Permian (such as Plains' Basin pipeline), from Canada and the northern US (the Keystone system's Cushing extension and Enbridge's Flanagan South and Spearhead lines), and from the Rockies and the Bakken.
- Outbound: the Seaway pipeline, reversed in 2012 to carry crude from Cushing to the Houston and Freeport area, and the Marketlink line to Port Arthur and Nederland, plus lines to Midwest refineries.
Since the Permian boom, much West Texas crude flows straight to Corpus Christi and Houston without passing through Cushing, which is one reason Cushing stocks have trended lower in recent years.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the Cushing oil hub?
Cushing is a small city of about 8,300 people (2020 census) in Payne County, central Oklahoma, roughly midway between Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Its tank farms surround the town and are connected to pipelines from Texas, New Mexico, Canada, the Rockies and North Dakota, and to lines running south to the Gulf Coast refining and export centers.
What is the crude oil storage capacity at Cushing?
According to the EIA's last Working and Net Available Shell Storage Capacity report (data for March 2024; the report has since been discontinued), Cushing tank farms had about 97.7 million barrels of net available shell capacity and about 78.4 million barrels of working capacity. Working capacity excludes tank bottoms and other volumes that cannot be used in normal operations.
How much oil is stored at Cushing now?
The EIA reported 24.3 million barrels of crude in storage at Cushing in the week ending September 25, 2026. The record high was 69.4 million barrels in April 2017; in July 2026 stocks fell to 18.6 million barrels, the lowest since 2014.
Why are there so many oil tanks in Cushing, Oklahoma?
Cushing began as an oil boom town after the Cushing-Drumright field was discovered in 1912. As local production declined, the pipelines and tanks built for the field made it a natural place to gather, blend and redistribute crude from other regions. When NYMEX chose Cushing as the delivery point for its crude oil futures contract in 1983, traders and pipeline companies built even more storage there, because tanks at the delivery point let them hold oil, deliver against futures and profit from price differences over time.
What does WTI Cushing mean?
WTI Cushing is West Texas Intermediate crude delivered at Cushing, Oklahoma — the grade and location specified by the NYMEX WTI futures contract. When people quote "the WTI price" they usually mean the front-month NYMEX futures price or the EIA's daily Cushing WTI spot price.
What is the difference between WTI Cushing and WTI Midland?
WTI Midland is the same type of light sweet crude priced in Midland, Texas, in the Permian Basin, where most of it is produced. WTI Cushing is priced at the Oklahoma futures delivery hub. Midland usually trades at a small discount or premium to Cushing depending on pipeline capacity, and WTI Midland delivered to Europe has been part of the Dated Brent basket since June 2023. WTI Houston (MEH) is another pricing point on the Gulf Coast.
What do US commercial crude stocks at Cushing mean?
Each Wednesday the EIA's Weekly Petroleum Status Report includes crude oil stocks held at Cushing, excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (which is not stored at Cushing). The number shows how much oil sits at the WTI delivery point. Rising Cushing stocks usually signal ample supply and tend to weaken nearby WTI futures; falling stocks signal tightness and tend to support them.
When does Cushing hit critical levels?
There is no official critical level. Every tank needs a minimum volume ("tank bottoms") to operate, so not all reported inventory is usable. In June–July 2026, when Cushing stocks fell below 20 million barrels for several weeks, the EIA noted that inventories may have approached operational tank-bottom limits; at the same time WTI briefly traded above Brent. At the other extreme, in April 2020 storage filling toward working capacity contributed to negative WTI futures prices.
Sources
- EIA — Weekly Cushing, OK ending stocks excluding SPR of crude oil
- EIA — Working and Net Available Shell Storage Capacity (March 2024, discontinued)
- EIA Today in Energy — What are tank bottoms? (July 16, 2026)
- Wikipedia — Cushing, Oklahoma
- CME Group — Light Sweet Crude Oil (WTI) futures
Disclaimer: This guide is for general educational purposes only and is not investment advice.